When Forever Dies
by But I Have Promises To Keep
Summary: Natara knew she was going to be taken, that Mal had a chance to escape. She yelled for him to run, and he promised to come back for her. Can he find her before she's lost in the flames? One way I think Maltara could start.
1. Chapter 1

Natara opened her eyes to darkness once again. She squeezed them shut again, willing herself to fall back into darkness. 'Where are you Mal?' she asked herself 'Did they get you too?'. She wished they hadn't gone on this case. It was a suicide mission. But they had abducted two kids! They were probably dead by now anyways, long past the time where they were of use. Long past the time where they had offered ransom money. She closed her eyes, recalling how she had gotten where she was.

_"Mal, cover the door. I'm going in". _  
><em>"No way. We're way to far out. We're in the middle of the woods Natara! They could kill us and we'd never be found". <em>  
><em>"They abducted two kids! I'm going in, cover me or not". <em>  
><em>She had then stormed in, leaving Mal to cover the entrance. Finding she was ambushed. She yelled for Mal to run, but he wouldn't listen. He tried to come in to save her, but she had screamed at him to get out. He knew there were to many people, he couldn't fight them all. He had run away, her captors chasing him as he yelled "I'll come back Nat, promise!".<em>

She opened her eyes again. That was the last time she had seen Mal. The last time his voice had sounded. She didn't know if he was alive or captured. If he was lost somewhere in the woods, as they had hiked there. All she knew is she had to hold onto the idea he was coming back. That was the only thing that helped her keep her sanity. It gave her hope, and hope was all she had right now.


	2. Chapter 2

"It's been two weeks, what do you suggest we do?" yelled a loud voice Natara recognized as one of her captors.  
>'Two weeks' she thought 'I've been gone for two weeks. Are they still looking for me?'. She knew Mal would, and maybe Amy. They wouldn't leave her for dead.<br>"I don't know! They said their not negotiating, they won't let Charlie go. We're just going to have to let him behind".  
>"Your own brother! He went to jail for you, and your just going to let him stay there. How could you live yourself knowing you left him behind?".<br>This was nothing new. The doors were thin, and if she wasn't tied up she could probably get out. She could hear everything they said though. It wasn't very useful, all she knew was ones name was Ben, one was Mark and someone named Charlie, who was in jail, was involved. Charlie was Ben's brother, Mark was Charlie's best friend. They were blackmailing someone to let Charlie go. That was all she knew. She made a mental list of these things so if- no, when Mal came, she could tell him. Ben, she could tell who it was by his voice, said something under his breath. She could hear a smack, and knew Mark must have hit him. "Your wrong! There's no way you'd be able to live with leaving Charlie behind". She heard a phone ring, but found long ago to not get her hopes up. They did something, she didn't know what, so Amy couldn't trace it. If she could she wouldn't be here. She knew she wasn't where she was originally taken. This place was different. It looked, smelled and sounded different. She knew it was old from the creeks she heard every so often. She knew it was near the ocean, unlike the other place, by the constant smell of the sea. The walls were wooden, like a cabin. "Hello?" she heard Mark answer. Murmurs echoed into the room she was in, and she could tell the phone was on speaker, though she couldn't hear it. The door to where she was hidden burst open, blinding her with light. She smelled the sour breath of one of them leaning close, a rough hand grabbing her face to make her look at his ski mask wearing face. "It's your lucky day" he said "Finally gave into our ransom. Your little friend agent Mallory is gonna drop our friend off, then we're out of here. We'll leave you here so he can pick you up later". He let go of her face, and she knew by the voice this was Mark. As he left, she took in what he had said. '_Your little friend agent Mallory is gonna drop our friend off'_. She gulped. She knew this was Mal's way of communicating that Charlie was dead. Ben came in after Mark, handing the phone to Mark. "Your little boyfriend wants to know you're alive before we make the exchange" he said "Just watch what you say. I might not be ready to leave anyone behind, but he is". He shoved the phone roughly in her face. "I'm fine Mal. I just wish Brittany was here" she said. She hoped Mal would pick up what she was saying. Before she could say another word the phone was yanked away, and Mark walked out, closed the door behind him and said "We'll expect to pick him up in one hour. Leave him on the Golden Gate bridge. We'll call and tell your your little girlfriends location an hour after we pick up Charlie". There was a pause in which Natara guessed Mal had challenged if Mark was telling the truth, and Mark yelled back "You're just going to have to take my word for it! Do you have any other choice?". She heard him hang up, slam the phone down on the table in anger. "So how are we going to get little miss over there back without incriminating ourselves?" asked Mark from the other room.  
>"I can think of a way" she heard Ben say slyly. There was a scraping noise, then an odd sort of roaring sound.<br>"You can't be serious! We gave our word!" yelled Mark.  
>"We lied. Look, we don't have a choice here! Out finger prints are all over the place".<br>"Okay, but make it quick" said Mark. Natara could tell from his tone this was not okay at all. Whatever Mark was doing terrified him, and it wasn't exactly comforting to Natara either. Suddenly the door flew open again, and Ben walked in. She saw what he was holding. A roaring lit torch, and a canister of gasoline. She felt her heartbeat quicken, she was never going to get out of here. Mal couldn't come back for her, because she would be long gone before he came. Maybe he would find her in the ashes, but really their would be nothing left.


	3. Chapter 3

Mal stood in the crime lab, readying his phone to dial the last number of the phone number he had been given during the last conversation he had with Natara's captors. They had tried to track this number, but they did something to it. Even Amy hadn't been able to figure it out yet. Each conversation lasted less than three minutes, the amount of time it took to track a phone making a call. This was why Mal was preparing to once again try and stall for the umpteenth time. He also had a message to Natara, and hoped she could pick if up.  
>"Ready Mal?" asked Amy. She and Kai were waiting to track the cell phone tower that was being used, then to hopefully get an idea about the location.<br>"As I'll ever be". He dialed the last number, and Amy immediatly began the search.  
>"Hello?" said a voice.<br>"We have your brother, we're ready to make the exchange. Special Agent Mallory will be dropping him off. I need to know that she's alive first". He hoped he would tell her who was dropping off Charlie, but knew he probably would to antagonize her. To tell her her friends were breaking at their hand. She just hoped she would pick it up.  
>He heard something being whispered. Then he felt cool relief at Natara's voice, weak and horse, saying "I'm fine Mal. I just wish Brittany was here".<br>The male voice paused, he heard a door slam then it said "We'll expect to pick him up in one hour. Leave him on the Golden Gate bridge. We'll call and tell your your little girlfriends location an hour after we pick up Charlie".  
>"How do I know you just won't kill her before we get there?".<br>Mark yelled back "You're just going to have to take my word for it! Do you have any other choice?" he hung up on him, and Mal turned hopefully to Amy.  
>She almost smiled "We got the location of the tower, but not the actual phone. The tower covers several miles, we need to narrow it down but their are thousands of phones going off that signal and we don't have any way of telling which is the one Natara's captors are using".<br>He remembered the odd statement she had said before 'I wish Brittany was here'.  
>"Who's Brittany?" he asked.<br>Amy squinted as if in thought "I don't know, that sound familiar though".  
>Mal gasped "A victim, in the Maskmaker case. The one found on the beach, wasn't it Brittany?".<br>Amy nodded "You really think that has to do with anything?".  
>"I think it has to do with everything. Cross-reference numbers that are used along the shore line".<br>She did as she was told, narrowing it down to about a hundred numbers. Only one of them had the number and ID unavailable, and it was right along the shore.


	4. Chapter 4

Natara's eyes watered with the smell of the gasoline that was being poured across the floor. It had yet to come anywhere near where she was, it was only splashed on the walls and made small puddles on the floor. Natara did what she had done franticly since she had woken from an obviously drugged sleep in this building, running her finger across the rope that bound her. Her hands were bound in a way that she could only move one finger, and move one finger she did. She hoped the friction would work away at the rope, but so far had only managed to tear open her skin and cause blood to soak the both the rope and her own hands. She half-wished that Ben would pour the gasoline on her also, that way it would be over quickly. She knew her frantic attempts at freeing herself were useless, she was going to die. Throwing the now empty gasoline bottle near the door, Ben began to walk out. For a moment Natara thought he had changed his mind, then he dropped the torch and the room was engulfed in flame.

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><p>Mal had just pulled up to the edge of the docks, wooden ones. One small building was set ablaze, and he knew at least one person was inside. "Don't do it man" said Ken "Don't be stupid, you don't even know if…". But Mal had already bolted.<br>"You're so stupid! Your not supposed to run towards a burning building, it's not safe you idiot!".  
>All Mal yelled back through his panting as he ran was "I know!". He stopped a few feet from the building, knowing at any time the who thing could collapse into the water. That at that time the flames would extinguish, but Natara would be lost to the waves. Taking what could be his last swallow of cold salt-scented air, Mal plunged in.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Natara could feel the flames nearing her, mainly behind her. She could feel them licking at her arms, making her feel like her very skin was melting. She tried to scream, both in pain and for help. All that resulted was more smoke entering her lungs, making her cough until her eyes watered. She couldn't see, the smoke was thickening. She coughed uncontrollably, unable to breathe. The ropes on her hands must have burned, for the next thing she knew she had fallen off the chair and was on the ground. Groggily, she tried to pat her burning shirt sleeves on the ground, but it just made them worse. The flames were crawling up her arms, spreading like fingers across her body. Every degree brought more pain, enough that strangely enough she started to feel nothing. She knew this wasn't good, that this meant the nerves were damaged now. Or possibly she had breathed in to much smoke and was losing touch with reality. She became strangely transfixed with watching the lump of plastic that was the gasoline bottle burn before her, so engrossed that it seemed it was the only thing that mattered. It melted into a puddle, lapping at her unfeeling arm. Sudden agony overtook her as the fire began to crawl up her neck, bringing her back to the world of the sane again. 'Get out' he mind seemed to scream 'Get out before it gets to hot and your brain shuts down'. Unsure exactly what part if her was intact enough to make her move, she attempted to army-crawl across the seemingly endless floor. She soon stopped, no longer attempting to crawl, but curled up and waited to die. Waiting for the pure agony the spots that were not yet nerve damaged brought to stop. She gave a shuttering gasp, taking in one ragged breath. The air that went in was hot, making her very lungs feel like they were set ablaze. Then she heard it, or maybe it was wishful thinking. Maybe her mind had shut down from heat, and that was why she heard Mal calling her name. For a second she thought she saw vert brief sunlight, a rush of cool air. Then darkness engulfed her eyes, and she felt her lung seize up as if a hand had grabbed them and squeezed.


	6. Chapter 6

Mal immediately felt his lungs seize up as he entered the flaming building. He tried to call Natara's name, but barely managed to suck in a breath to do so. Pulling the neck if his sweat-soaked shirt to cover his mouth and nose, Mal tried to see through the smoke and water in his eyes for any trace of a human being. Then he heard it, faint coughing. His heart leaped as he heard the faintest of cough, dropping like a stone when he saw the badly burnt form of Natara, who had managed to crawl and push open the door. She had obviously passed out, but that wasn't what shocked Mal. The black patch in her leg…what that her skin? Small flames still licked the remnants of her clothes, and he picked her body up and held her close to smother the flames. Without even thinking he slung her over his shoulder, turning in heel and maneuvering back throughout the flames. Twice his pants leg caught on fire, and he had to stop to put it out.

* * *

><p>She was dead. Natara knew she was dead. Or was she? If she was dead, would she be able to form this thought. If she wasn't dead, surly she had passed out and was inches from it. She was fairly grateful for this, as at least all her pain was gone. It was replaced by a floating sensation, as if she had fallen into the ocean.<br>_Push and pull. Waves of cold. The ocean._  
>Had she fallen into the water? She knew she was close to water before. Suddenly a feeling as if someone had seized her collar and pulled up over took her. 'Let me be' she thought 'Let me go'. The hand didn't listen thought, in continued to pull as light and cold seemed to come closer. 'No…'. She knew there was a good chance her body was beyond repair, and was not about to live a life of machines breathing for her. While her soul was trapped in a body clinging to life, where people could never let go until she was gone. That could take years. She fought against the hand, which was hard to do as she felt like she was breathing through a long tube.<br>_'Breathing'._  
>Yes, she was breathing. As of right now that was the only evidence she had to her continued existence. She was being pulled up by the hand, as if being pulled back to the world of the living.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Mal stumbled out of the building, Natara slung over his shoulder. He heard Ken yell something in the distance, something about calling an ambulance. All Mal could do now was put Natara down far enough away from the building. He bent by her, gulping in fresh air like a cold drink. He put one hand to her neck, feeling for a pulse. There was one, but it was faint. He felt under her nose to see if she was breathing, finding nothing. "Come on Nat" he pleaded to her deaf ears. He leaned over and tilted her head up, checking her airways. He pressed his mouth on her's, forcing breath down her lungs. "Don't you dare die on me Nat" he said to her, knowing she couldn't hear her. After a few seconds she started to cough violently, and Mal sighed with relief. Coughing was good, coughing was breathing. Her eyes didn't even flicker, but in a moment she stopped coughing. Her breaths were raspy and short, but they were there. This only made Mal able to focus on her injuries. This made Mal's heart drop like a stone. From the middle of her thigh down, her legs were burn badly enough that blood seeped out, parts of skin completely burned away and blackened. Her jacket in the back was singed, the flames most likely sparing most of her back and torso. They seemed to have spared her back and went straight for her neck, which was nearly as bad as her legs. Her hair was singed in places, but luckily her face had been mostly spared. Mal heard the nearing sirens, saw paramedics take Natara from him. Felt the more-than-warm hand he hadn't realized he was holding as he ride along in the ambulance. He was shocked when Natara, an oxygen mask shoved over her face, opened her eyes as if demanded to.

* * *

><p>Reality hit her like a truck. She heard everything, the panicked voices surely taking about her, Ken telling the paramedics what had happened. What she badly wanted was to see, and see she did. She gave several panicked glances around, spotting Mal as the person who had been holding onto her hand like a lifeline. Red suddenly crept into her vision, and she knew consciousness would only be temporary. She surprised him by quickly reaching or her face, lifting her oxygen mask of.<br>"Ben…Mark…" she said in a raspy voice. She knew names would do very little, but it was all she could do. Mal face was set as he said "I'll get them".  
>"Ma'am, please" said one of the paramedic, shoving the mask back in her face. She weakly resisted, barely able to push back. She felt her lungs constrict, and knew she couldn't hold out much longer without help. Her vision faded to black, and she was suddenly terrified of Mal leaving her alone.<br>"Don't leave me" she practically cried. The man finally won and shoved the mask back over her face, but not before Natara felt herself fade away.  
>"I'm stating right here" Mal said, but to her it only sounded like a whisper. Then the last word she heard before the world faded to mute met her in Mal's voice. "<em>Forever<em>".


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry it's so short, the next one is going to be monstrously huge. **

* * *

><p><em>for·ev·er<em>  
><em>Adverb: <em>  
><em>For all future time; for always.<em>

Why was this running through her head? She didn't know when she had looked up this word, but must have at some point. She returned to a floating state, alone in the dark. Forever in the dark and silence, until one noise sounded. Mal voice, and it sounded like he was screaming her name.

* * *

><p>Mal wasn't aware of any noises as they reached the hospital, at least after the panicked words '<em>Hurry, we're losing her!'.<em> They took her away, and after that the world turned to mute. He wasn't aware Ken was holding him back, or that he was even fighting against him. He wasn't aware her was screaming for Natara, that he had broken a promise. If she died, his last words were a lie. He said he would stay with her forever and he didn't. That must have meant that forever had died.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry, this isn't _NEARLY_ as long as I thought as it was (I type on my ipod,** **so its hard to tell the length).**

Mal had his head in his hands. The last half hour was a blur, and not knowing Natara's fate was a new kind of worry. He had no recollection of how he had gotten there, but was still in the waiting room when an hour had passed. Two hours. Ken left, saying he would be back later. Amy came, waited with Mal. Three hours, Amy left, but told Mal Captain Yeong said he could stay as long as he needed. Also, that she would like to say Kai sends his regards, but in reality said something he probably didn't want to hear right now. Three and a half hours later, Ken returned to see if Mal was still there. He must have taken pity on him, sitting there helpless. Or, by what he called him before, 'a puppy waiting for their owner'. Ken said he was going to find out what happened, and Mal gave him a sarcastic 'good luck'. He had tried every time anyone came within earshot of him, and this hadn't gotten him anything. Mal watched as Ken talked to a young receptionist, apparently speaking softly to appeal to her better nature. Mal was no longer surprised at the lack of information he obtained, of course yelling at the woman every five minutes didn't make her in a particularly helpful mood. Ken returned a few minutes later, his face unreadable. He sat down next to Mal, and his mind immediately jumped to the time he was told his mother had died. The big, sympathetic eyes, ones that thought they understood. Ones who never would understand. "Some friends are special" he started "They can't be replaced". Mal felt his stomach drop, until Ken said "but sometimes they don't _need_ replacing".


	10. Chapter 10

**I nearly murdered my IPod today. As I was writing, I typed 'Mal'. It auto-corrected to 'Oscar' for some reason. Auto-correct is now disabled. Also I apologize in advance in what might be the cheesiest, crappiest reuniting scene ever… **

Mal looked at her for a moment, she was lying down, tubes up her nose. She was awake and peaceful-looking, her gaze fixed on the nearby window. He rapt his knuckles on the doorframe, making her turn to look as he walked in. He sat in a chair by her bed, smiling at the fact that she was still alive. She returned a weak smile in return. "So, still hate hospitals?" he asked somewhat sarcastically "or is saving your life just another reason they tick you off".  
>Her smile widened, somewhat awkwardly because of the tubes below her nose.<br>"No, they still suck. Besides, they didn't save my life" she paused for a moment "you did".  
>"Oh, so what? I'm like your knight in shining armor now? Do I get a horse?" he said sarcastically.<br>Natara gave a slight and weak laugh "No, your more like my dork in tinfoil".  
>Mal sat back "I can live with that. I may be a dork, but at least I'm your dork".<p> 


End file.
